Social Construction of Reality

Social Construction Theory of Reality by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckman Applied to the novel "Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain Peter Berger and Thomas Luckman's book entitled, "The Social Construction Theory of Reality" discusses how an individual and the society is related to the construction of reality in life as one perceives it to be. Berger and Luckman present various elements that influence the construction of 'reality' of an individual.

The book basically provides three important factors or elements vital to the discussion of the Social Construction Theory of Reality: the discussion of how knowledge is conceived, conceptualized, and accepted in real, everyday life; the Society as Objective Reality; and the Society as Subjective Reality.

The discussion of how knowledge is acquired and developed is important in discussing the theory because as quoted in the book, "the sociology of knowledge is concerned with the analysis of the social construction of reality." Thus, the book discusses the sociology of knowledge, the Society, and the Individual within the society.

The Social Construction Theory of Reality is a concept that can be applied in relation to Mark Twain's novel, "Tom Sawyer." The novel is a good description of how the theory and the factors that it has relates to the events in the novel, as well as to the primary characters, Thomas Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. The novel presents the story of the two main characters that is directly in contrast to the expectations of the people in their society.

Tom and Huck are young people who are known to defy and disobey the norms imposed in the society especially when young people are concerned. Because they are portrayed as 'abnormal' characters in the novel (which means that they are not obedient to the norms or normal rules of the society), the characters of Tom and Huck are good examples of how individuals help influence society and how society dictates how an individual should act or should be for the people.

Alongside the study and analysis of the characters of Tom and Huck as individuals affecting the society and affected by the society, it is also important to study the sociology of knowledge of the two characters. In doing so, the readers will learn how Tom and Huck came to conceive and perceive themselves as they are, and what motivates them to continue their disobedient, yet, good ways to the people and for themselves as young men.

This paper will therefore provide a study of the sociology of knowledge, society and individual (factors inherent to the Social Construction Theory of Reality) as it relates to the characters and events in "Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain. In the sociology of Knowledge, Berger and Luckman emphasizes on the importance of everyday life or "common sense" knowledge in the conception of one's and society's perception of reality.

As the 'central focus' of the theory in study, common sense knowledge pertains to the experiences and events that have vital significance to the individual. Through these events experienced everyday, society and the individual utilize these events to create what will be their own perception of reality. The book used everyday life, social interaction, and language as important components to the development of everyday or common sense knowledge of reality.

Through the events that we experience, social interactions with other people in the society, and the shared common meanings made possible by language, reality is constructed in a manner that is agreeable to both society and the individual. The idea of everyday/common sense knowledge is apparent in "Tom Sawyer." As a young, mischievous men, Tom and Huck base their knowledge abut reality based on their own experiences, which are often disobedient and mischievous in nature.

It is evident that their knowledge is not built by academic and formal education, but with the realities of life, as the encounter and experiences it everyday.

Mark Twain's characterization of Tom and Huck as young men who hates going to school (specifically Tom, since Huck has received no formal education) reiterates the fact that reality can be best portrayed and believed if the knowledge used is based on everyday or common sense knowledge of life, since life experience is the best test of how people perceive their world to be. Society as an objective reality is a portrayal of how reality is perceived objectively by people, that is, the society.

As a group, the society determines reality in an objective way, and the reason behinds this is because since people are subject to their own judgment about their view of reality, people came up with an objective way of looking at and perceiving reality. This reality then becomes the reality of everyone, since this 'reality' is objectively agreed upon by everybody. In "Tom Sawyer," reality is portrayed through the functional society, wherein any deviation from the norms of the society makes an individual.